Alternative to Ritalin for ADHD?

[mooose5]

My son quite likely has ADHD. I discussed it with his pedi and we were NOT comfortable medicating him (this was about a year ago), she was fine with our decision and we left it at that. His behavior has continued to be a problem and is becoming more of an issue at school. Are there any, more natural, alternatives to putting him on drugs? Something you have experience with? Hoping to find some mommas who have BTDT. Thank you!

[gpsings]

Coffee is what i use. We dress it up and use flavor creamers...
Caffeine is like vitamins around here.

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[gpsings]

Also....stay away from sugar and dyes!

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[mooose5]

We don't do dyes, but he does get sugar here and there (like from school, church) esp this time of year :(
I don't see that it makes a huge difference, but I still try to avoid it.

I have tried to get him to drink coffee but he refuses. Not sure what it would take to get him to drink it. I think I even had it mixed with cocoa but he still didn't like it.

[DancingWithElves]

you can try caffeine, it is available in may forms and we have had productive threads discussing various ways of taking it, you can do a search :) however, please note that his nutrition needs to be TOP notch if you go this route. :yes lots of protein, lots of healthy saturated fats, carbs coming *not* just from grains; fewer processed foods (this includes anything made of flour, chips, drinks, etc.)

there are many book son ADHD and nutrition and many of them are worth reading. check a few out and see what resonates with you and your beliefs on good diet :) you will find a common thread of high intake of healthy fats, protein, and low sugar, with low or no processed foods, dyes and preservatives.

i have significant experience in following children with ADHD through dietary changes, and i will tell you that earnest effort on the part of the family almost always results in significant improvements in the child's condition :tu *however* i have never seen ADHD cured by diet alone.
:shrug3

a variety of neurofeedback treatments have shown to be very beneficial. in my experience LENS is by far the most effective. the price is prohibitive for some families, but there are practitioners who work pro bono, etc. this, to date, has been the most effective treatment i used on a child of mine :)

primitive reflex integration is extremely important. i recommend that you do *not* participate in any of the few online programs available as i seriously doubt their effectiveness. some of them advocate very punitive parenting practices :-/ I DO recommend that you look into an occupational therapist familiar with any type of reflex integration. my second choice with be a chiropractor specifically trained in this field. it is something you can do at home as needed and for us 10-15 min of exercising completely changes the course of the day.

ADHD is largely a wiring issue. i believe in fixing the wiring. ;-) which is why this post is not about supplements or herbs. although many of those can be useful on your journey.

[Rabbit]

I won't touch Ritalin, but I use adderall. So if you mean a different med, there are several options, including non-stimulant choices.

[gpsings]

For coffee...i let him pick out a flavor sugar free creamer at the store. In a pinch i use flavored stevia leaf drops....and ALWAYS whipped cream. :giggle

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[AngelaVA]

Fish oil is a popular supplement for helping kids with ADHD, L-Theanine usually in the form of chewable Suntheanine is gaining recognition as being helpful for ADHD (2 pills twice a day) there is a recent Canadian study on it somewhere... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/22214254/

For us healthy diet is good (no HFCS, dyes, low sugar, no GMOs, lots of fresh produce ect) but elimination diets didn't prove to have long term results. For some reason kombucha really helps my DD - although probiotics don't. That's just us though, I've not read anything to indicate that's common.

We've been trying meds and are pretty underwhelmed with them. Yesterday we had an appointment with a sleep specialist and FWIW he said kids with ADHD and bed wetting very frequently have undiagnosed sleep apnea (even if they don't snore) so we are currently looking in to that for our DD who is also 7.

[DancingWithElves]

Angela, the kombucha thing is relatively common. all that means is that strains in kombucha are the best probiotics for her :tu go for quality over quantity though, as high acid levels can through off metabolism

[Peridot]

I won't touch Ritalin, but I use adderall. So if you mean a different med, there are several options, including non-stimulant choices.

me too.


Also- I won't medicate Maximus until he's in danger of being suspended from school.

Any kind of fish oil supplement does amazing things, and I highly recommend a magnesium citrate supplement to help with the sensory issues that usually accompany ADHD. Not cal/mag. :no not for this.

Lots of large motor, and get his eye function checked as soon as he can cooperate with an exam. If his eyes are not working together, it can cause whole body large motor symptoms similar to hyperactivity but not necessarily related.